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focused.
    But Charlie had been focused, trying to work out what it was about Lord Valentine that tickled her conviction that all was not well with them man. His abstraction could have been for any number of reasons and yet she had sensed that whatever troubled him ran deep.
    There was, she had decided, something a little peculiar about Lord Valentine and Miss du Pont but she could not work out what it was. Cousins they might be, but she had intercepted more than one flirtatious glance from Madeleine directed at his lordship’s forbidding countenance. Were they in a relationship? There was certainly nothing wrong with a man forming a romantic liaison with his cousin, it was done quite frequently. But the usual rules of behavior must apply and Miss du Pont was not accompanied by a suitable companion. Naturally, most women in her circumstances had the companionship of at least a maid. But circumstances had been unforeseen, landing Miss du Pont in the middle of an adventure.
    Lord Valentine certainly had not been in any way flirtatious. Quite the opposite, he had looked rather grim on the occasions he glanced towards his cousin. It had all been quite perplexing.
    Leaning down to throw another log on the Charlie grinned to herself, remembering what had taken place after dinner. Even if his lordship was an early riser, she rather suspected that he would try and stay abed as long as possible after the previous evening. Lord Valentine’s expression while they had played their family favorite of charades after dinner had been a study. It hadn’t been distain on that handsome face – he was far too well bred to display any such emotion – the look of polite attentiveness did not quite cover the gleam of desperation in his eyes. But at least he had not been bored. Charlie was almost certain that the Weatherings en famille left no room for such an emotion although Madeleine du Pont might be the exception to the rule. Try as she might to see the positives in the girl, it seemed to Charlie that Madeleine was not bothered by little things like common civility… Truthfully, try as she might, she could not warm to Miss du Pont and so was inclined to be churlish.
    She glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was nearly seven-thirty which meant that breakfast would soon arrive in the dining room. Neither her parents nor her siblings were early risers, which meant that Charlie often had the house more or less to herself until at least eight, often later. Today she thought that her father might make a special effort and come downstairs because they had a guest, but she doubted he would be down before eight-thirty. Much depended on his putting his book down before the early hours, for like the rest of the family, he enjoyed reading immensely.
    Theirs was a household of small amusements done on a limited budget. Papa had an income of three thousand a year, which, without seven children to support, would have been splendid. But seeing to an adequate future for so many children meant that pennies must be counted. The girl’s were dependant on Mama’s sister to present them at court if Aunt Sophia could be relied on. And she would, of course. She had been in Europe for much of the last Season or she would have invited Charlie to London. But there were plans afoot to have her go up in February to start the endless round of visits to dressmakers, in preparation for when the Season truly began. Aunt Sophia had even offered to help with the mind numbingly large amount of gowns that were required. Charlie was in two minds about the whole thing; she wanted to make an eligible match, she truly did. It would help launch Anne and Merry later on and perhaps alleviate some of the burden regarding the boys. But at the same time, immersing herself in a world that was entirely unfamiliar was daunting. She liked her family and knew she would miss them if she were gone for any length of time. And she had decided that, if she must go, then she would probably have